The National Mall and the Smithsonian institution are inimitable classics in the museum world; Natural History and Air and Space will always be tourist favorites. However, amid Washington D.C.’s torrent of museum culture, some oddities exist. The following are the most compelling, strange, and niche-specific of the District’s exhibitions.

The International Spy Museum

The Spy Museum is one of D.C.’s favorite privately-owned attractions, beloved for its inventive exhibits and dedication to the realities of reconnaissance. Guests immerse themselves in the espionage experience by studying “cover” identities and choosing one to adopt for themselves. After completing their tours through the museum, visitors can choose to “debrief” by testing themselves on the details of their assumed persona. Attractions along the way include extensive displays of spy gadgets, explorations of spies in wartime, videos on the C.I.A. and the K.G.B.’s most infamous, and various interactive exhibits. Kids can even crawl through air ducts to spy on their parents’ museum-browsing.

The Hirshhorn

An oft-neglected branch of the Smithsonian, the Hirshhorn displays some of the National Mall’s strangest holdings. Unlike the rest of the Mall’s museum buildings, the Hirshhorn’s cylindrical structure resembles a spacecraft. Current displays include a technicolor film tribute to “digital noise and computer anarchy” that explores what the artists refer to as the “secret lives” of magnetic fields. While this might sound confusing, the visual result is stunning and wild. Other exhibits, especially the museum’s permanent collection, are primarily sculptural, and visitors will certainly enjoy the Rodin sculpture garden.

The Newseum

The immense Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue contains twelve galleries, fifteen theatres, two broadcast studios, a towering atrium, and an interactive newsroom. Its glass elevators are the tallest in the world, relaying guests to its seven stories of exhibit space. Its theatres screen news and sports documentaries daily and occasionally host high-profile performances, while its exhibits include photographic galleries devoted to Pulitzer winners, the Berlin Wall, and 9/11, historic explorations of journalism, and a journalists’ memorial. Perhaps its main draw is the fully interactive NBC newsroom, where visitors can engage in tutorials and sit at the anchor desk “hot seat.” It’s sponsored and curated by leading network news personalities, and it’s definitely unique to D.C.

National Museum of Health and Medicine

Due to the graphic nature of its holdings, the NMHM is a little less than family-friendly. However, for the bold and strong-of-stomach, it’s D.C.’s most exciting museum venture. Its most famous displays are also its most gruesome: patrons can view the pistol that killed Abraham Lincoln, the probe that the Surgeon General used to find the bullet, pieces of Lincoln’s skull and hair, and a shirt cuff stained with his presidential blood. Other famous displays explore infectious diseases, skeletal anatomy, preserved organs, neuroanatomy, and developmental anatomy. For anyone with even the slightest morbid curiosity, the NMHM is a must-see.

National Museum of Crime and Punishment

This Penn Quarter museum invites its patrons to, “test your Wild West shooting skills, crack a safe, and try to hack into a computer.” In other words, it offers burgeoning young criminals a chance to hone their skills. Favorite exhibits include a gallery of Medieval punishments, a Pirate hall of fame, a mock crime scene, an electric chair, and the CSI experience. In case those young criminals are too enticed by illicit glamour, the museum offers an authentic showcase of prison life and capital punishment: displays include a jail cell, a rebuilt guillotine and gas chamber, and a genuine lethal injection machine from a Delaware prison.

These are the best museums in D.C.  Click here for the best rates at the best hotels in the D.C. area, or anywhere.

Season: Spring

Event: Cherry Blossom Festival

“Festival” is a term somewhat loosely applied to the activities surrounding Cherry Blossom season. What takes place is more of an association of celebrations, all of which encourage tourists to visit the District at its most beautiful. The early spring events include guided tours of the city’s best blooms, bike tours with knowledgeable park rangers, exhibitions of Japanese art, sporting events, and fireworks cruises on the Potomac. Most events are free to the public, and the omnipresent blossoms are sure to make your vacation more memorable and photogenic.

Visit: http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/

Season: Spring

Event: Earth Day on the National Mall

The Mall hosts the largest Earth Day celebration in the world, incorporating the nationally renowned Green Apple music festival. The events operate free-of-charge, though they come with a healthy political earful about the virtues of going green. Guests at the 2008 festival enjoyed performances by the Roots, O.A.R., and Toots and the Maytalls, as well as speeches by Chevy Chase and Edward Norton. While exhibitions on green technology and environmental action take place on the Mall’s expansive lawn, most of the musicians perform at D.C.’s major venues.

Visit: http://www.greenapplemusicfestival.com/

Season: Summer

Event: Capital Fringe Fest

Fringe Fest’s tagline promises “unjuried, risk-taking, independent performing arts,” and delivers D.C.’s wildest mix of events over a period of about two weeks in July. Performers include comedians, political playwrights, vaudevillians, and other promoters of on-stage mayhem. It’s an ideal program for theatre lovers, and other visitors are certain to find a light-hearted improv troupe or critically acclaimed play to suit their interests. During the festival’s zenith it sponsors upwards of twenty events in a single evening, so there are plenty of performances from which to choose.

Visit: http://www.capitalfringe.org/fringe-festival.html

Season: Summer

Event: Smithsonian Folklife Festival

This annual “international exposition of living cultural heritage” takes place on the lawn of the National Mall and runs for two weeks in July. Artists, storytellers, performers, craftspeople, and musicians congregate to share and celebrate their cultural traditions with the museum-going public, who can enjoy the free-of-charge festival at leisure. In the evenings, the Smithsonian sponsors outdoor concerts that are cultural explorations in their own right. This year’s festival featured a celebration of Texan music, exhibits on the art of Bhutan, and a tribute to NASA.

Visit: http://www.folklife.si.edu/center/festival.html

Season: Fall

Event: Adams Morgan Day

Adams Morgan is one of D.C.’s most culturally diverse areas, and its annual street fair reflects its composition. Political demonstrators, cultural dancers, craft merchants, and food vendors assemble to celebrate the neighborhood every September. Dance troupes hold workshops to instruct community members on their art, while clowns and carnival games entertain children. First-time visitors to the area will be able to enjoy the Morgan’s sundry ethnic cuisines in a lively street fair setting, and local entertainers provide family-friendly fun.

Visit: http://www.ammainstreet.org/

Season: Fall

Event: Duke Ellington Jazz Festival

This city-wide jazz celebration typically takes place in early October, when the District enjoys its finest weather. Over a hundred acts perform in the space of a few days, inhabiting the city’s most celebrated music venues and jazz clubs. The festival also organizes parties for jazz-based mingling, classes in jazz technique, and a “Jazz n’ Families” fun day that encourages the younger generation to explore the music’s complexities. If you’re not jazz-obsessed, you’ll at least enjoy the festival’s free performance event on the National Mall.

Visit: http://www.dejazzfest.org/

Depending on price and the location of your accommodations, your itinerary to D.C. may include flights into Reagan National Airport, Dulles Airport or Baltimore’s BWI Airport.  Be sure to check out Hotels Cheap for the best discounted hotel rates.

Washington D.C.’s political epicenter and beloved museums draw major crowds, but comparatively few tourists venture into the city’s residential areas. The following neighborhoods are District locals’ favorites, guaranteed to impart authentic D.C. to the eager visitor.

Capitol Hill

The Capitol Building is one of the District’s main draws, offering constant guided tours and the occasional high-profile meet and greet. Informed visitors will take in the Capitol and decamp to its surrounding residential area, one of DC’s liveliest neighborhoods. Capitol Hill is one of the city’s most beautiful sections, especially in cherry blossom season, and it’s unbeatable for weekend brunch and browsing.

Best Attraction: Eastern Market, which operates as both Flea and Farmers’ markets on weekends, is a vestige of vintage consumer culture in a modern urban center. Vendors offer homegrown produce, arts and crafts, and assorted antique wares to the local weekend brunch crowd.

Best Bar: The Pour House is cheap and friendly, a favorite of young Hill staffers. Happy hour specials are particularly enticing; the bar offers $3 draughts and $5 appetizers every weekday. It’s a truly inexpensive local and up to date sports bar, housing countless HD TVs and screening games from across the Northeast.

Best Restaurant: Tunnicliff’s Tavern is a regular burger joint during lunch and dinner hours, but its weekend brunch is Capitol Hill’s best. Order a seafood-themed dish, like the salmon platter or Eggs Chesapeake, and Tunnicliff’s won’t disappoint.

Chinatown

DC’s Chinatown is a popular stop for sports fans—after all, the adjacent Gallery Place is the home of the Verizon Center, where Georgetown’s Hoyas and the Washington Wizards play their home games. Though Chinatown is only a few blocks in area, its restaurants are guaranteed authentic and its bars are some of the city’s best.

Best Attraction: The National Portrait Gallery, housed in the Old Patent Office Building, showcases one of the Smithsonian’s most comprehensive collections. Its permanent exhibitions include Presidential portraiture, a performing arts component, and a gallery of sports champions, and it features temporary installations devoted to pop-culture figures.

Best Bar: RFD, which stands for Regional Food and Drink, boasts DC’s most overwhelming beer list. Your humble narrator enjoyed a Brooklyn Monster Ale, a Lagunitas IPA, an Avery IPA, a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA, and a Rogue Imperial IPA on one particular visit.

Best Restaurant: Of Chinatown’s expected abundance of Chinese eateries, Eat First is the best deal. It’s an especially good choice for tourists, since its menu appears in English and its staff is notably friendly. Its finest dishes include seafood specialties and Roast Duck, all excellent despite its takeout-like aesthetic.

Dupont Circle

Dupont Circle’s eclectic residences house the city’s best mix of inhabitants. Its cafes are beloved of professors and students, while its bars tend to draw hordes of young professionals. Thanks to a recent influx of young residents, Dupont Circle is no longer just a transportation center and traffic hazard. It’s best to hit up the area in the evening before heading to nearby Adams Morgan for late-night entertainment.

Best Attraction: Though the area serves as the city’s primary nightlife and dining hub, there is some DC museum culture to be had. The Phillips Collection, a smallish space housing an extensive private collection, is one of the District’s hidden gems. Its Impressionist and modern holdings include Renoir’s famous “Luncheon of the Boating Party.”

Best Bars: The Big Hunt is a popular happy-hour melting pot for the city’s many universities, as it offers the neighborhood’s cheapest selection of decent draughts and bar food. Fox and Hounds Lounge is famous for its heavy pours, sometimes giving patrons a full glass of liquor with a chaser of soda on the side. It’s a great bar, but you’ve been warned.

Best Restaurant: Pizzeria Paradiso puts some odd ingredients on its gourmet personal pizzas, but the results are usually outstanding. Go for the culinary specialties and stay to quaff some brews; Paradiso famously offers a wide range of beers that includes Rogue ales and Delirium.

Adams Morgan

Adams Morgan is where the District goes to party and bar-hop into the early hours; a wise old sage once described it to me as “amateur night.” However, beneath its midnight gloss of drunken collar-poppers, the area has a lot to offer its visitors. Tourists regularly flock to the Zoo, though they should be just as eager to explore the Morgan’s wide variety of ethnic cuisines.

Best Attraction: The National Zoo, the home of infamous baby panda and internet superstar Tai Shan, is the area’s most popular tourist spot. It’s extensive, free, and a great way to spend an active afternoon.

Best Bars: 18th street between Columbia Road and U Street is the District’s busiest alcohol-soused drag. The Pharmacy Bar is D.C.’s consummate dive and has the best jukebox in the world. Chief Ike’s Mambo Room, off the beaten path on Columbia Road, is a slightly larger space and hosts the occasional open mic.

Best Restaurants: Mixtec, on the busy corner of 18th and Columbia, has the city’s best nachos and margaritas. The Reef, a slightly pricier option on 18th street, has wild-caught seafood and other eco-friendly fare.

Georgetown

Georgetown, D.C.’s most upscale ‘hood’, houses more than just its namesake university, your humble narrator’s alma mater. GU’s distinctive Healy clock tower looms over a busy waterfront shopping district, an abundance of student-friendly pubs, and blocks of walkable cobblestone streets lined with colorful row houses.

Best Attraction: Shopping. M street’s storefronts and the Shops at Georgetown Park are primarily budget-breaking, but some of the smaller consignment shops offer some relative bargains.

Best Bars: The Tombs, Georgetown’s real life St. Elmo’s, is the University’s favorite establishment for pitchers and study snacks. Rhino Bar, an M street staple, is the neighborhood’s best place to watch a game.

Best Restaurant: The Sequoia is a large waterfront eatery that specializes in intricate seafood dishes. It’s a favorite stop for families visiting the University as well as a haunt for wealthy G-town locals.

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Free Public Tours of the Capitol

These daily tours run on a first come-first served basis; interested participants must first visit the Mall’s ticketing kiosk to enroll. The basic tours cover the famous Rotunda, some meeting spaces, and old Senate chambers, and are fairly limited in scope. Anyone interested in a more in-depth experience should contact his or her local representative. Many Congress-people engage in the occasional guided tour, and they’ll get you into spaces that the interns can’t. It’s certainly worth the e-mails and phone calls to be able to witness the legislative process in action.

White House Tours

While spoof site whitehouse.org may lead you to believe that White House tours are sickeningly pricey ($250 a head) and adherent to a strict dress code of slogan tees, actual 1600 tours are free and fairly informal. Furthermore, they’re consistently the highest-rated of D.C.’s political tours. Visitors enjoy the Presidential art collection and the vigilant, 24/7 protesters in equal measure. While an encounter with the big cheese is unlikely, tour participants describe the White House experience as unforgettable.

Spy City Tour

This tour promises a few dozen stops at espionage’s most storied destinations. Sites include the nominally mundane, like office buildings, hotels, and restaurants, and guides assure that you’ll never look at a normal location in the same way again. What’s more exciting is the mission that every tour entails: participants obtain coded, classified information and must decipher an important message to deliver to headquarters before tour’s end. To truly hone your undercover skill set, visit the International Spy Museum, the tour’s parent organization.

Civil War Washington: Soldiers and Citizens

Cultural Tourism D.C., a nonprofit coalition focused on the city’s heritage and arts, offers this extensive bus tour to private groups. Participants follow the paths of infantry soldiers from downtown to Fort Stevens, pausing at the preserved Lincoln Cottage for a walk through the President’s seasonal digs. Other stops include the African American Civil War Memorial in the U Street district, and the time on the coach is entirely informative. Cultural Tourism’s website promises that you’ll learn “about Matthew Brady’s attempts to photograph the battlefield, Clara Barton’s tireless efforts on behalf of missing persons, and John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of President Lincoln.”

Mount Vernon Tour

If you’ve got any desire to get out of the city and explore the countryside, Tourmobile’s Mount Vernon jaunt is an efficient and informative means. A coach bus takes participants through Old Town Alexandria, one of metro D.C.’s most charming areas, and out into the Virginia countryside, to the grounds of George Washington’s fabled estate. Visitors are free to explore the mansion and its gardens and grounds, which include a museum and education center. More than just an escape into idyll, this tour is a must for history buffs.

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The National Arboretum

The Department of Agriculture’s pièce de résistance occupies a roughly 500-acre plot from northeast New York Avenue to the Anacostia River. Its horticultural holdings are the nation’s finest collection of compelling plant life; the gardens have neighborhoods dedicated to Asian vegetation, conifers, bonsais, official state trees, dogwoods, and countless diverse flowers. One of the Arboretum’s most famous and photogenic attractions is the installation of the National Capitol Columns, former buttresses of the Capitol building. Should you encounter nice weather in the District, a walk through the Arboretum is mandatory.

The National Archives

The Archives’ biggest draw is the Rotunda, containing the three documents known as the “Charters of Freedom.” Visitors can peruse the original drafts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and the facility also holds a copy of the 1297 Magna Carta, by Edward I. What’s more enticing is the fact that the Archives promote free-form browsing; there are no lines to view the documents, and every visitor can read at his or her leisure. History buffs will appreciate the extended collection, which includes the drafts of the Louisiana Purchase and the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage

The Watergate-adjacent Kennedy Center is one of the District’s most impressive and recognizable edifices; audiences flock to its nightly events for the ambience as well as the acoustics. The Millennium Stage operates every evening at 6, and all its associated acts perform free-of-charge. Two stages anchor the Center’s Grand Foyer and feature a wide range of performers, many of whom are sponsored by the Kennedy Center’s Artist-in-Residence program. The foyer itself is an impressive enough draw; with 60-foot ceilings and a depth of 630 feet, it’s one of the largest rooms in the world.

The National Geographic Museum

The Explorers’ Hall that houses the National Geographic Museum features past and present anthropological undertakings in equal measure. Upcoming exhibitions include the Chinese Terracotta Warriors, considered to be one of the world’s most impressive and important artifacts. A current exhibit explores maritime oral traditions and the history of whaling, while another showcases the magazine’s best photographic work. Check the museum’s schedule of speakers for a more in-depth experience; the NGM regularly books anthropologists, historians, artists, and scientists to lecture to willing visitors.

The National Air and Space Museum

One of the Capital’s most stalwart and beloved attractions, this Smithsonian mainstay holds the largest collection of air and space travel memorabilia in the world. Visitors stroll through large, open spaces containing the disused bodies of actual warplanes, as well as models and portions of rockets. Other popular holdings include vintage missiles, Martian and lunar rocks, and the original Wright Brothers’ “Flyer” from 1903. Families with children will especially enjoy the hands-on exhibits, which include some original NASA spacesuits, and adventurous kids will love the flight simulators and informative IMAX features.

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Between the national monuments, the trendy streets of Georgetown, new restaurants downtown, the beautiful Potomac River and the shows at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC has a lot to offer visitors. Here’s a sample.

1) Tour the White House.

2) Take in a show at the Kennedy Center.

3) Visit the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.

4) Honor Old Abe by visiting the Lincoln Memorial.

5) Take a photo of the Washington Monument.

6) Tour the Jefferson Memorial.

7) Explore the past at the Smithsonian Institution Museums.

Visit Arlington National Cemetery.

9) Commune with nature at the National Zoo.

10) View one of the finest art collections in the world at the National Gallery of Art.

11) Kayak the Potomac with Potomac Paddlesports.

12) Rent a bike and take a guided tour.

13) Take a guided walking tour of the city.

14) Check out Glenn Gary’s Parlor Magic.

15) Visit the African American Civil War Memorial.

16) Experience a jazz session on U Street.

17) Explore the architecture of historic Georgetown.

18) Take a break at the world famous Dubliner Restaurant and Pub.

19) Experience the Gilded Age at Anderson House.

20) Shop, eat and visit the galleries in Dupont Circle.

21) Tour the home of Robert E. Lee.

22) Hit the clubs in Adams Morgan.

23) Take a ride at Busch Gardens.

24) Experience world class shopping at The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.

25) Take in a major league soccer game.

26) Discover a different Washington with a cultural tour.

27) See Decatur House, one of the oldest surviving homes in D.C.

28) Hit some balls at Dulles Golf Center & Sports Park.

29) Brush up your Shakespeare at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

30) See a play at Ford’s Theatre.

31) Go on a garden tour.

32) Picnic at Great Falls Park.

33) Gather intelligence the International Spy Museum.

34) Explore Luray Caverns.

35) Get up close and personal with your favorite president at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

36) Take a picture of the Iwo Jima Statue.

37) Visit George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate.

38) Catch a Broadway style show at the National Theater.

39) Go on a treasure hunt.

40) Go to a church service at St. Matthew’s Cathedral.

41) See some works of art by the masters at the Kreeger Museum.

42) Tour the Pentagon.

43) Take in a sporting event, concert or family show at the Verizon Center.

44) Catch a MLB game with the Washington Nationals.

45) Go shopping in the Seventh Street District.

46) Find a deal at at Eastern Market.

47) Have lunch in historic Union Station.

48) Take your children on a tour geared specially for them.

49) Take photos of the national monuments like a pro with Photo Safari.

50) Grab a bite to eat at Old Ebbitt Grill where In the Line of Fire and Live Wire were filmed.

Travel Tips:

1) Search for the best and cheapest flight itinerary into either Dulles, Reagan or BWI airports.

2) Save money on your hotel and enjoy more of these local attractions.  Book your Washington DC hotel online at Hotels Cheap.

(Photos via flickr cc)